


To Find No Distance Left Between Us

by lionessvalenti



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, M/M, Not Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Mid-Credits Scene Compliant, Protection Magic, Requited Love, Wedding Night
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-06-02 13:05:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19442035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionessvalenti/pseuds/lionessvalenti
Summary: With the protection of Asgard gone, Thor needs to take on a spouse to power new protective magic for the population.





	To Find No Distance Left Between Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Snickfic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snickfic/gifts).



"Explain this to me again." Thor leaned forward slightly in his chair, elbows resting on his knees.

The Statesman was a large ship, but it was carrying to capacity, meaning space was limited. The cabin in which Thor had taken to be his office was small, barely more than a closet, and Heimdall was only a few feet away from him. He could have reached out and touched the top of Thor's head if he so wished. Now was certainly not the time.

"It's a protection spell, to envelop the whole of Asgard while we're in transit," Heimdall said. "We hold none of the protections the physical space of Asgard gave us, but this one can travel with us if we enact it. It must be performed by the king. It is... empowered when the king is joined by their spouse. Since you have no spouse, you would need to take one. And as long as you are joined, Asgard will be protected."

"So I need to get married."

"It would help, yes."

Thor sighed. He looked up at Heimdall with a rueful smile. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"The Valkyrie seems to be your equal," Heimdall replied mildly.

"I've only just met her. She's great, but I can't marry someone I've just met."

"It's ceremonial, my king. A few vows, then a consummation. When we find refuge, if you wish, you can have a quiet divorce. The people wouldn't even need to know about the marriage."

Thor rubbed his hand over his forehead, and gave a little laugh. "I do love a good consummation, but no. Ceremonial or not, I need someone I can trust not to stab in my sleep to overtake the throne."

"Do you think she would do that?" Heimdall asked.

"I don't think so, but I don't know. That's the problem. I need certainty." Thor's expression softened as he looked up at Heimdall. "There's no requirement that the spouse be a woman, is there?"

"The same as there's no requirement that the king of Asgard be a man, no."

Thor stood. He reached out with one hand toward Heimdall, then brought it back. His face twisted rather comically, trying to settle on an expression, but instead he filtered through many emotions in the span of a few seconds. He shuffled in place for a moment, his knees bending, like he was attempting to kneel in the small space, but thought better of it. Finally, he threw both hands out, palms up, and said, "Marry me."

Heimdall hesitated to answer. His skin tingled, starting at the base of his spine, and like one of Thor's bolts of lightning, moving slowly throughout his body. He took a slow breath, keeping his expression neutral. "Are you certain that's what you want?"

"I don't say this because there's really no other options, even if there's not. I mean, a very drunk woman I hardly know, citizens I love, but am not acquainted with, and, well, Loki. Who is my brother, and who would stab me if given the chance. We know this because he has. Many times.

"I say this because there's no one I trust more than you. I know beyond all reason and with no doubt, that you have my best interest and the interest of the people at heart. I will give myself to you. If you will have me."

Heimdall paused again. There was no possible way Thor could have known the growth of Heimdall's admiration for him over the slow passage of time. It was merely a political maneuver. It was for the people. Cerimonial. He knew he was capable not to volunteer, but there was no part of him that could refuse Thor's proposal.

Distance, Heimdall thought. He could maintain a distance.

Finally, he nodded. "Yes, of course, my king."

Thor took one of Heimdall's hands between both of his own. For being hands that could wield lightning, they were smooth and warm. He smiled broadly, his face lighting up like the sun. "Thank you, my friend."

* * *

The ceremony took place two days later, and was a small affair. Heimdall and Thor shared quiet vows in the presence of a few people: The Valkyrie, Loki, Banner. No one else needed to know if it was only a temporary measure. There was no reception, or even a meal afterwards. When it was over, they simply retired to Thor's room.

Like Thor's choice in office, it was not grand. The room was small and humble, though the bed was plenty large enough for the both of them.

"Have a drink with me," Thor said, once the door was closed. He went immediately to a sideboard and poured two drinks. He turned halfway, holding one glass out to Heimdall. "Here."

Heimdall took the glass and tipped it slightly. "Thank you."

Thor kicked back his entire glass of liquor in one gulp. He left the glass on the sideboard, then dropped onto the bed, stretching out longways, his feet dangling over the side. He kicked off his boots, one falling to the floor after the other. He looked up at Heimdall, for the first time, with uncertainty.

"How do we proceed from here? Are we taking it slow? Or getting it over with?"

"A medium pace." Heimdall sat in the space between Thor's body and the end of the bed. "We might not linger, but there is no reason to hurry."

Humming an agreement, Thor ran a finger over the back of Heimdall's hand. It was the briefest touch, barely a graze, but deliberate. "I've come to realize that I know so little about your life before I was born. Have you been married before, Heimdall?"

"No. I had a duty to the crown and I gave up... many possibilities in favor of it."

"Do you regret it?"

"I have, occasionally. But not now. If I had given up my place in favor of a family, I might not have been able to bring us here. Putting the people first allowed me to take my part in saving them. I could never regret that."

"Such a diplomatic answer," Thor said, barely above a mumble. "Have you had many lovers, then?"

Heimdall cracked a smile. "Some. But I'm much older than you are. What I consider some, you may consider many."

Thor laughed, throwing back his head. "A valid point. Have you been in love?"

Heimdall's smile faded. There were so many ways to answer that question. He had watched so many people, and had fallen in love with them a million times over, but was that the question Thor was asking? Was there someone he turned away in favor of duty? Had there been some love from his youth? Was it as simple as that?

With a cough, Thor pulled his hand away. The silence had gone on for too long. "Sorry, that's... it's maybe inappropriate when we're about to—" He motioned around to the bed. "We should—we should get started."

"We should." Heimdall took another drink and then stood briefly to set his glass aside. He came back to the bed, sitting this time up on his knees, and dragged his fingers through the short crop of Thor's hair, before his palm settled on the back of Thor's neck.

 _Distance,_ he thought absently as he studied Thor's face. He could approach this with a blind professionalism, a good, loyal subject doing only his duty for the crown, but Heimdall could not do anything blindly. He saw himself for what he was, the same as he could see everything else. He knew he would not be able to keep his distance, even if it meant having his heart broken. He was as capable of breaking as anyone else.

Thor tilted his face upward and smiled. "I do intend to enjoy this."

 _Oh._ Any resolve left disappeared. Heimdall nodded, his throat too dry to speak. There was no telling how much he would enjoy it. He tightened his grip on Thor's neck as bent down for a kiss. He lingered there for a moment, feeling the warmth of Thor's breath against his cheek, before their mouths met.

Heimdall shuddered, his admiration melting into arousal at the touch of Thor's lips.

Thor's fingertips grazed up the length of Heimdall's arm, leaving trails like fire on the surface of the skin, until he wrapped himself around Heimdall, pulling him closer.

"How would you like me?" Heimdall asked, barely pulled away from the lush heat of Thor's mouth. He slid his hand around Thor's neck, to his throat, and down to his chest, never once breaking contact.

"Naked," Thor replied breathlessly, and without hesitation.

Heimdall chuckled softly. "And after that?"

Thor pulled up the front of Heimdall's shirt and yanked up over his head. He tossed the shirt aside. His hands moved down the planes of Heimdall's chest, his eyes wide, taking in the view. "Let's concentrate on naked first."

"As you wish, my king," Heimdall said, and began unfastening his trousers.

Shifting around so he could more easily remove his own clothes, Thor's gaze turned upwards at Heimdall with interest. He tugged off his own shirt, never quite looking away. As familiar as Heimdall was with the curves and ridges of Thor's body, to see him like this was different. It was better.

"Are you going to call me that all night?" Thor asked.

Heimdall paused, his hands still mid-unbuckling of his belt. "You _are_ my king."

"And now I'm your husband. If you can't bear to call me by my name, at least call me that."

That was the opposite of distance. Heimdall surrendered to it.

"Very well, husband." He smiled as he said it, enjoying the sound of the word in his mouth. He pulled down his trousers and kicked them to the floor.

"Husband," Thor repeated, also smiling. His sight caught on Heimdall's cock, nearly fully erect, and his jaw dropped. He sat up on his knees and brushed his mouth to Heimdall's. He reached down and gently took the cock in hand. "And as for how I would like you, I'm certain I want this inside of me."

Heimdall swelled toward Thor with a shuddered gasp. There was no softness left, his cock going rigid at Thor's touch. " _Yes._ "

Thor grinned. He released Heimdall and moved closer to the head of the bed. He twisted away slightly to stretch, the taut muscles in his back straining beneath the skin, as he dug around in the nightstand. He came up with a silver tube of lubricant. "Would you like to prepare me, or would you prefer to watch me do it myself?"

"I'll do it." Heimdall was already reaching out his hand for the tube. He'd watched enough.

"Good." Thor kissed him, briefly, but hard, before he spread out belly down on the bed. His hips rolled, as to gently rub himself against the blankets. "When you're ready."

Heimdall settled himself between Thor's spread legs. Without Thor looking at him, he was able to let his guard down some. Not much, but enough to grant himself a moment to appreciate this. They were going to do this, and Thor had no reservations about enjoying himself, so Heimdall might as well follow the lead of his king.

He squirted some of the lubricant onto his fingers, and found it to be self-warming. He didn't hesitate to press his slicked fingers against Thor's waiting hole, then gently pushed one finger inside of him. Thor tensed around him for a second, then relaxed with a soft, satisfied moan.

"I had such feelings for you when I was a boy." Thor's voice was low and thick. His muscled back tensed and relaxed with the movement of Heimdall's fingers inside of him.

"I remember," Heimdall said with a smile. He pressed a second slicked finger into Thor, working him open slowly, pushing the fingers in deeper.

"You knew?" Thor looked over his shoulder with a grin.

Heimdall chuckled. Thor wouldn't have even been considered a young man at the time, still gangly with growth, and ignoring his studies in favor of hanging around the Bifrost. He would spend hours asking imploring questions about what was happening out in the other realms.

"You've hardly ever been subtle in anything you do," he said, resting his other hand at the small of Thor's back. It gave him some leverage as he worked his fingers in further before slowly pulling them back out. Not all the way, only enough to push them in again. "Not long after, you discovered maidens your own age."

Thor moaned again, burying his face in the pillow. Heimdall's cock throbbed at the sound. "I thought about you, you know, after that. Imagined you were watching me. When I was taking myself in hand, it was always better when I thought of you."

Heimdall knew this was a popular fantasy among Asgard, some of the bolder citizens even calling upon him to watch them. Thor never called, and yet Heimdall had occasionally watched as Thor grew older. He had tactfully avoided moments of intimacy, but nothing he found beneath Thor's clothes had been surprise.

"How do you feel?" Heimdall asked, instead of continuing the course of the conversation. He turned his wrist slightly, enjoying the strangled noise Thor made as he did. "Are you ready?"

" _Yes,_ " Thor gasped, pushing back against Heimdall's hand. "Please, Heimdall. I need you."

Heimdall didn't give him any more satisfaction with his hand. He pulled out his fingers, and wiped the excess lubricant over his own cock. "Turn over. I want to see your face."

With a sound that implied a momentous effort, Thor rolled onto his back. His face and neck were flushed, his cock hard and wet. He laughed, his mouth splitting open into a jovial grin. "Do you like what you see, husband?"

"I do," Heimdall breathed. He couldn't move, nor look away. He thought he had seen everything, but he had never seen Thor looking back at him with desire. His hands, usually steady, trembled at the prospect of touch. 

"Then take it. I'm yours to have."

Heimdall surged forward, grabbing Thor around the hips, pulling him up until cock was aligned with ass, and pushed into him. It wasn't until he was inside Thor that he even realized what he'd done, but the sound of Thor's gasp told him the deed was not unwelcome. He wrapped his legs around Heimdall's waist, encouraging him deeper.

An onslaught of emotion welled up in Heimdall's chest. It wasn't any one thing, it was everything. It was his lust for Thor, his _love_ , and the blissful relief of getting to experience this with him. It was the loss of Asgard as it was and the hope for its future. Tears burned at his eyes and he blinked them away.

Thor wrapped his hand around the back of Heimdall's neck and pulled him down for a kiss. "When I said my vows, I meant them," he said, his lips brushing against Heimdall's as he spoke. "I want no divorce."

"Neither do I." A weight lifted from Heimdall's shoulders as he admitted this. He smoothed his hand up from Thor's hip, over his abdomen, tense with his current position, and felt the skin pulled tightly over his ribs. "I meant the vows as well."

"You did?" Thor laughed and stretched his neck up to kiss Heimdall against, brash and open, their tongues meeting. He tasted like the summer storm. "Then fuck me harder, husband."

Heimdall sat up so he could get better leverage. It would be so easy to lose himself in this, and as he fucked harder into Thor, he realized he could. There was no need to hold back anymore, everything already laid bare between them.

"Oh god," Thor gasped. He wrapped a hand tightly around Heimdall's forearm. "I knew this was the right call—you're fucking good at this."

"I better be, I'm doing all the work," Heimdall said with a laugh.

"Is that a challenge?" Thor grinned. He dug his elbows into the mattress and pushed himself upright until he was sitting up in Heimdall's lap, slinging an arm over his shoulder.

Heimdall tilted his head to the side and buried his face in Thor's neck and inhaled deeply. He smelled unimaginably good. "That's better."

Thor laughed. "Is this how you like me? Riding your cock? Desperate for more?"

"Yes," Heimdall gasped. He kissed Thor on the mouth, biting the lower lip as he did. He could feel Thor's moan against his tongue. "Gods, yes." His hand slid down into the small space between them and grasped Thor's cock. Thor's laughter turned to a groan.

"I want to hear you say my name." Thor placed his hands on either side of Heimdall's neck to steady him, as to look him in the eye. "Say it."

"Thor." The name fell from Heimdall's lips like sacred prayer. Once it was said, he couldn't stop. It was a dam broken open, no babbling Thor's name like a mantra to come by, "Thor, Thor, _Thor,_ " and he did, coming hard, squeezing hard around Thor's cock, until they came together.

"Fuck," Thor gasped, falling back against the pillows. "That was—it was some good consummation."

Heimdall pulled out slowly, reveling in the sound of Thor's groan as he did. He flopped down by Thor's side and stared up at the ceiling. Now that he wasn't so focused on the task at hand, he checked on the people, to make sure things hadn't been reduced to chaos in that time, but the ship was calm.

"Heimdall."

He turned his head and Thor was smiling at him, still a little breathless, and his forehead shiny with sweat. "My king."

Thor laughed softly and rolled onto his side. He pressed a kiss to Heimdall's temple. "Are we protected now?"

"We are, yes. There's strength in unity."

"Mmm, yes, I agree." Thor rested a hand on Heimdall's chest, quiet for a moment, watching Heimdall carefully before he spoke again. "I do have to say, there's one thing that confuses me about all of this, and I wish for you to enlighten me."

"Ask me anything," Heimdall replied. He placed his hand over Thor's, holding it to him.

"When we discussed the prospect of my need to marry, you never put forth yourself as an option. Clearly, you wanted to, and yet you never volunteered. Would you have sat back and watched me marry someone else?"

Heimdall smiled, but there was no joy in it. "Yes."

Thor's eyes widened with confusion. "Why?"

The smile faded slightly, and Heimdall took a moment to consider his reply. "My position has always required distance from everyone. I gave myself to the people, and in doing so, I forwent many things. Not simply family or a spouse. I sacrificed connections and friendships, as not to split my loyalty between protecting the throne and protecting those closest to me. I have not been afforded the luxury of letting my guard down. It was the way it was for many years. Offering myself to you, it would have been selfish."

"I think you've earned being a bit selfish," Thor said, touching his thumb to Heimdall's lower lip. "You've clearly come around."

Heimdall made a noise of agreement. "I was still thinking about my duty in old terms. Everything has changed, including the both of us. Including Asgard. As a people, we will never be the same, and we cannot pretend that we will be."

"No, we cannot," Thor murmured. "I don't want the throne to be something that separates anyone from the people. We are our own home now. And we should be so grateful."

"We should," Heimdall replied and kissed him softly. Thor returned the kiss with more force, his hand pushing up into Heimdall's hair. When he pulled back, his lips were plump and red.

Thor grinned. "So, tell me. How long have you lusted after me?"

Heimdall laughed. Of course that's what Thor would want to know. He had come so far, and yet he still had so far to go. Perhaps he needed someone older and wiser by his side. "Not nearly as long as you'd like to think. But I will continue for longer than you could possibly imagine."

"Oh, I can imagine a long time." He snuggled in closer to Heimdall and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "I think we should have a wedding."

"Did we not? Just an hour ago. Or don't you remember?" Heimdall nudged Thor gently in the chest with his elbow.

Thor laughed. "Yes, I do. But I thought it might be nice for the people to know that we're wed, and for them to celebrate with us. A party for morale, and also a chance for us to share vows when we both know the other means it."

"When you put it that way, Thor, I suppose... yes, I will marry you."

Still laughing, Thor climbed atop Heimdall, and kissed him. "Good. Now, fuck me again, husband."

Heimdall grinned, his hand sliding up the inside of Thor's thigh. "As you wish, my king."


End file.
